Riley Swickard went from simple weight loss to figure champion.

Riley Swickard first entered the world of fitness in 2015 when she set out to lose weight. She adopted as trict Ketogenic diet and began a strict weight training regimen.

She told Thebakerorange the results were immediate and exhilarating.

“That was so much fun to me. I had so much energy so I was like, I want to keep doing this.”

Soon she had lost almost 30 pounds. Then she focused on gaining strength. She increased carbs and began lifting more deliberately for size. She said the gym gave her as special sanctuary:

“I could just go in, put in my headphones and lift. It sounds super cliche and cheesy but it is true. Everybody has their thing.”

Swickard eventually teamed up with a personal trainer who suggested she try bodybuilding.

“I thought [about] the bikinis and the stupid posing I was like, ‘Oh wow, that sounds kind of corny, not really my style.’”

Eventually though, she decided to give it a shot. The prep for her first show was more intensive than any previous training. In the week leading up to it, she ate every three hours, and at six percent body fat was constantly fatigued.

The restrictive diet plan inspired Swickard to make a list of all the things she wanted to eat and all the restaurants she wanted to eat at after the show.

Finally, competition day arrived. Swickard says she didn’t love the process of getting a spray tan, gluing her swimsuit on, and flexing before judges. But still her work paid off. She was named “2017 Ms. Kansas Figure” and “Overall Novice Figure.”

After the competition, Swickard began receiving questions about fitness, health and nutrition over social media, so she started an Instagram fitness page and YouTube account.

“I hope that it educates and inspires people to care about their health more,” Swickard said.

Riley is looking to rise through the ranks of US Bodybuilding with another competition this summer.

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